This is a guest column, and does not represent GosuGamers. It is written by Sidewinded, and slightly edited in design by GosuGamers.
Why patch 1.19 was released
There are several theories to why Blizzard decided to release patch 1.19. Just a day or two before the patch release, a disconnect hack had circulated the community. This foul device was unstoppable, and there were many a players who exclaimed that "I ain't doin' shit 'till Blizzard fix this."
Blizzard did fix it, and the following day a patch was released, this was patch 1.19. This patch hindered the usage of the disconnect hack, or for some time it might seem. A follow up patch called 1.19b was released the next day, reading only:
"Fixed a crash that could occur during multiplayer-games."Had someone reprogrammed the disconnect hack so it would work in the new patch, or was there in fact an actual bug that would crash games? Only Blizzard knows, and they most likely won't be telling me. Or you.
However! My big question of the month is:
Did Blizzard release 1.19 in what they thought was the right time? Or were they in such a position, due to the disconnect hack that they forced into releasing it earlier than they themselves had anticipated? And if they felt pressured, why did they not release a smaller patch with the only effect of hindering the use of the disconnect hack? Not many were expecting a balance fixing patch at this time.
A lot of question and a hell of a lot less answers for sure.
The word on the battle.net is that the patch is not sufficient regarding balance changes, and since Blizzard was in for a rush-job they didn't have the time to finish. That is why the game is still imbalanced. Quite a weak argument, but one that will stay with us until the next patch.
What did patch 1.19 mean in gaming terms
It seems Blizzard had certain specific goals when they wrote this patch. I believe they had decided to alter specific match ups, instead of trying to dramatically change the game. So imbalanced strategies, were instead made balanced (or some times, only less-imbalanced-than-before). These are the conclusions I have drawn from the patch changes.
Mass Tanks & Towers. This strategy relies on towers for defense, and only through uppgrading your towers was this possible. Patch 1.19 has changed the uppgrade, and instead of giving 1 armour per upgrade (3 upgrades), it now only gives 1. This is obviously, what Blizzard was thinking.
Mass Talons against Orc. Not a widely used strategy in my mind, used mostly by Korean player Spirit_Moon. Blizzard seems to have succeeded in balancing this match up effectively without messing up anything else. By granting Spirit Walkers immunity to Cyclone, this strategy has been somewhat balanced.
Destroyers. Obviously these fellows were a wee tad to powerful, and so their armour was reduced by 1 point.
Raiders. Ensare is too powerful, and can quickly change a game from being undecided into a landslide victory. The problem is what to do. In my opinion,
they could have done more than reducing ensnare time by only 4 seconds (15 to 12).
Concerning Maps
Wow! This is what they spent all those months doing, tinkering with our beloved maps. Regarding these changes, some are well motivated and some seem to have been made by Blizzards lunch committee staff, during the very earliest hours of the day.
Echo Isles. What the hell? I used to love this map; a perfectly balanced map with two healing fountains, and one mana fountain. These fountains created diversity in the game and also longer, interesting sessions. But if you are a ladder freak, with the only intention of levelling your account, you can now put a thumbs up on this one.
Hellfire. Remove this map please, looks ugly with ugly hard creeps. Warning, may cause mild depressions.
Twisted Meadows. By removing the high level items at the shops, this map has too lost its diversity. However, this change can be justified. There are many a game played on Twisted Meadows when a player has lost due to item drops.
Gnoll Wood. Watch out for the lunch committee. Through changing the creeps and the charged items at the shops, this map has lost its diversity, too (see a trend here?). No more fast rush towards the shops, battleing it out to get the Wand of Illusion. No more, sorry.
Moonglade. Old school Reign of Chaos map, I loved it and still do. Nice add!
Although you may have the impression that everything I think regarding map changes is negative, it seems I focuse a lot more on the negative aspects and almost forgetting the positive ones.
My conclusion is that the map changes are positive. The battle.net ladder needs new maps, the old ones had been too thoroughly used. Much like your favourite T-shirt, you love it but you've used if for twelve long years and now it needs throwing out.
Ladder reset, and "wow that's impressive... I think..."
The ladder reset, together with the patch was an excellent move. Now battle.net users are playing as if there was no tomorrow, literally. So let's see who has played the most out of us Northrenders.
PlayerHours PlayedTime played since resetXPLevel
visio24783%12,00029
So this man, or woman, visio2 has played on the Warcraft III ladder 83% out of his time since the ladder reset. Now that is impressive... I think... I don't quite believe he has done this himself, perhaps visio2 is actually a coalition of players distrubuting their time equally, playing when the other is nursing a headache, so that they can keep their number one spot. I hope so at least.
